Oats have numerous uses in food. Most commonly, they are crushed into oatmeal or ground into fine oat flour.

Oatmeal is chiefly eaten as porridge but may also be used in a variety of baked goods, such as oat cakes, oat cookies and oat bread. Oats is an ingredient in many cold cereals and cookies and raw oats are now becoming very popular.

Oats are also occasionally used in several different drinks. In Britain oats is used for brewing beer. Avena a cold, sweet drink made from ground oats and milk, is a popular refreshment throughout Latin America.

Oat bread was first manufactured in Britain, where the first oat bread factory was established in 1899. In Scotland they are held in high esteem. Oats are also widely used as a thickener in soups, as barley or rice might be used.

Oats are used as feed for horses when extra carbohydrates, and the subsequent boost in energy is required. The oat hull must be crushed for the horse to digest the grain. It may be given as such or as part of a blended food pellet. Cattle are also fed oats, either whole, or ground into a coarse flour.

Oat extract can also be used to soothe skin conditions. Oat grass has been used traditionally for medicinal purposes, including to help regulate the menstrual cycle and treat dysmenorrhoea, osteoporosis and urinary tract infections.

The discovery of the cholesterol lowering properties has led to wider inclusion of oats as human food. Oats contain more soluble fiber than any other grain, resulting in slower digestion and an extended sensation of fullness. The protein content of the hull-less oat kernel ranges from 12 to 24%, the highest among cereals.

Oats have the highest lipid content of any cereal next to corn. It is greater than 10% for oats and as high as 17% for some maize cultivars compared to about two to three per cent for wheat and most other cereals. The reason is that much of the lipid fraction is contained within the endosperm.